1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color balance adjusting device provided in an image reading device in which an image, recorded in a film, for example, is irradiated with a light beam and the image is read using a line sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known an image reading device in which a film is intermittently moved in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of a line sensor, so that a color image is read line by line. Namely, while the film is stopped, a light beam outputted from a light source illuminates the film, so that one line image is sensed by the line sensor. After this sensing operation, the film is moved by a predetermined amount by a moving mechanism. The sensing operation and the movement are repeatedly carried out, so that one frame image is read.
In such a reading operation by the line sensor, first, the image is pre-scanned with a coarse pitch, and then, the color image obtained by the pre-scanning operation is indicated on a surface of a display device. The user can adjust, while viewing the color image on the display, gains relating to red, green and blue components, so that the color balance of the color image is changed in accordance with the preference of the user. Namely, in accordance with the adjusted gains, a scanning operation is again performed, and a color image which is subjected to the color balance is indicated on the display device.
In this color balance adjustment, if a value of the pixel data reaches a limit value of a saturation range, a tint of the reproduced image indicated on the display device is unacceptably exaggerated with respect to the original image. Although the saturation can be recognized once scanning of the film, after the color balance adjustment is made, and reproduction of the image on the display device is controlled, it takes a long time, due to the operations, until it can be determined whether saturation has occurred. Further, depending upon the quantity of saturation, the saturation may not be determined by only viewing the whole image.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a color balance adjusting device, in which, when gain adjustments to color components of an image are made, it can be immediately or easily determined whether image data has become saturated due to the adjusted gains.
According to the present invention, there is provided a color balance adjusting device, by which a color balance of a color image, which includes pixel data composed of at least a first color component and a second color component, is adjusted. The device comprises a gain changing processor, a pixel data calculating processor and a warning processor.
The gain changing processor changes a gain of each of the first and second color components. The pixel data calculating processor calculates pixel data of the first and second color components, using the gains changed by the gain changing processor. The warning processor outputs a warning implying that the gain, which is changed by the gain changing processor, is improper, when at least a part of the pixel data of the first and second color components, which is obtained by the pixel data calculating processor, deviates from a saturation range.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a color balance adjusting device, by which a color balance of a color image, which includes pixel data composed of a plurality of color components, is adjusted. The device comprises a gain changing processor and a warning processor.
The gain changing processor changes gains of the color components. The warning processor outputs a warning implying that a part of the pixel data deviates from a saturation range, when pixel data, which deviates from the saturation range, exists in pixel data of the plurality of color components calculated by using the gains changed by the gain changing processor.